The Living Blade of Innenotdar
Appearing significantly over-sized for the wielder in whatever form it may take, the low density of the finely crafted wood frame and utter weightlessness of the photonic energy blade that makes up much of its dimensions more than compensate for this. The weapon, in fact, is by far the most well-balanced and effortless to swing and thrust with that Zayed has ever wielded.
When de-activated, the Living Blade's frame shuts tight. Activating it causes the front frame to split apart and shift down towards the handle forming a hand guard, as the blade of light bursts from it, illuminating as a sunrod would. It is a free action to activate or deactivate the Living Blade. Either mode features a small circular portion that fills with light when activated and is empty space when off. It has no apparent function...
Precognitive abilities of the Living Blade:
[sblock]Your weapon surges with azure psionic energy and your eyes glow with a blue glint, as the world around you suddenly slows down and blurs. You watch in horror as your foe delivers a devastating attack to a friend or innocent. This view fades from your mind as quickly as it appeared, and you find yourself back in the normal time stream. Screaming out a warning as a symbol etches upon the Living Blade and emanates an aura, you can only hope your vision does not become prophesy.
Right after an action/effect/attack has resolved, a wielder who has formed a true bond to the living blade may spend an immediate action to treat what just happened as a “vision” of the imminent future, rather than it actually happening, and he can warn an ally within 100 ft (including himself) of the danger so long as the wielder can move and act and he has line of effect to the ally. The wielder chooses one of the following effects ("enhanced" versions became available to Zayed after the events in the Trillith Dreamworld):
•Purge: Grant a reroll to the ally for a roll he has just attempted. This can only be used for defensive actions, such as a concentration check to cast defensively, saving throw, etc... Not to benefit a check against spell resistance, an attack or damage roll, and other offensive actions.
Enhanced: No longer has an immediate action cost (still only one Vision ability may be used per round). Seals the auras emanating from ally for 1 minute (blocks Soul Read, projection of Marshal auras, Paladin's auras of good and courage, etc...).
•Shield: Force a foe within 100 ft to re-roll a d20. This can only be used against offensive actions, such as overcoming spell resistance, an attack or damage roll, etc... Not against a concentration check to cast defensively, a saving throw, or other non-aggressive calls for a roll.
Enhanced: No longer has an immediate action cost (still only one Vision ability may be used per round).
•Speed: Grant an ally a partial withdraw action (as withdraw, but only up to the creature's speed) or 5 ft step that resolves before whatever triggered the vision. If this would thwart that action, the foe can choose to re-direct his attack, spell, etc... if there is another valid target/area in range. Otherwise, that action is wasted.
Enhanced: No longer has an immediate action cost (still only one Vision ability may be used per round).
•Armor: Grants an ally Evasion and Mettle against one attack. If he already has Evasion or Mettle, he instead gains Improved Evasion or Mettle, respectively. If neither would apply to the attack, damage taken is halved instead (including ability damage, if any). If neither benefit would apply, Armor has no effect.
Enhanced: Affects all allies within a 10 ft radius of a chosen center point within vision range, and remains for the duration of the attacking enemy's turn.
•Enchant: Grant an ally an immediate melee or ranged attack against the foe that triggered the vision. The ally you choose does not need to be the victim of the attack. The ally may substitute his melee attack with a disarm, trip, grapple, or bull rush maneuver if he wishes. The foe, if he is still able to take his action after this, may re-direct it to another valid target if he can no longer attack the original target.
Enhanced: Ally can also opt to partial charge or use a standard or swift action spell or SLA (which must deal direct hit point damage and target the attacking enemy or include him in the area).
Visions can be used when an ally would be reduced to 0 or fewer hp, knocked unconscious, or killed (or otherwise permanently debilitated, such as petrified) outright. Visions, other than Enchant, may also be used on other occasions, but doing so expends one of the wielder's readied Diamond Mind maneuvers.
Note that, other than Purge and Shield, dice roll results are retained after a vision has been resolved (Ex: A dragon crits Angir, Zayed uses Speed to move him safely away, but Tansley is also within its reach, it can crit her instead).
While mechanically, the player is choosing exactly when to use a Vision, remember that from the character's perspective the visions seem somewhat random and unreliable in "coming to you" and never seem to happen too frequently, although it's usually there for the party when serious danger is imminent. This is represented by the 1 immediate action limit per round, the player opting not to use a vision at some points to "save it" for later (possibly ending up not using it at all that round in anticipation of a tragedy that never happens), etc... The character is not actually "choosing" to "use" a vision, it just occurs, seemingly out of his control.[/sblock]
Finalized progression for the Blade:
[sblock]Cut from the First Tree of Innenotdar, the Living Blade was once bonded to the heroine Anyariel. When the heroes retrieve it, it bonds to whoever pulls the blade from Indomitability’s body. The power of the weapon grows with its wielder, and some of the abilities below may be exchanged for ones of equal power that better reflect the nature or experiences of the sword’s wielder.
Whenever the wielder gains a level, he has the option of transforming the weapon’s shape. When the heroes first encounter it in adventure two, it is in the form of a greatsword, but it can be turned into almost any type of weapon. The Living Blade cannot be transformed into a weapons with complex moving parts like a repeating crossbow, or a weapon with multiple segments, like a flail, net, or spiked chain. It can, however, be transformed into many other weapons, such as a dagger, a crossbow, a whip, a Bohemian ear-spoon, or a composite longbow. If it is turned into a composite bow, the wielder can choose any Strength bonus.
Once the Living Blade’s form is chosen, it remains in that form until the wielder gains another level, when he can transform it again. In any form, it appears as though it is roughly carved from wood.
Regardless of the form or enhancement bonus of the Living Blade, it has hardness 15 and 60 hp, and it takes no damage from fire. If the weapon is destroyed, the wielder it is bonded to gains a negative level that persists for one year. This negative level never causes actual level loss. If the wielder chooses the form of a double weapon, determine its powers as if the wielder were 4 levels below his actual level.
••Level 1: Masterwork and Sizing (auto-sizes to match the wielder)
••Level 2: +1 enhancement
••Level 5: Living Blade Buster
••Level 6: +2 enhancement bonus.
••Level 8: Warning property
••Level 10: +3 enhancement
••Level 11: Lesser Transmuting property
••Level 14: +4 enhancement and Morphing property
••Level 17: Transmuting property (full version)
••Level 18: +5 enhancement
••Level 20: Psychokinetic (+1d4 force)
Morphing: Standard to change into any other weapon of same type (2H, 1H, or light)
Transmuting: After hitting foe w/ DR, start of next turn weapon ignores that DR for 10 rounds or until you hit another type of DR.
Lesser Transmuting: Activates as Transmuting, but only lasts 1 round and then wielder must hit again on a round it is not active to re-activate (so, assuming at least one hit per round, the rounds it ignores the target's DR would alternate).
Warning: While held, you gain +5 insight to Initiative
Buster: Standard action; Expends highest level strike maneuver currently readied, can't be used if no strikes are readied. Once used, it cannot be used again for 5 rounds. The Living Blade surges with power and the blade briefly extends to 60 ft long in just enough time to make a single 90-degree swing with it. This counts as an area attack and the attack roll becomes a Reflex (half) save DC against the damage. Depending on how swung, it could be a 60 ft 2D conic fan shape when slashed horizontally, or be like a 60 ft line effect from Zayed that also hits directly above him and any in the arc on the way down, etc... Damage dealt is doubled against nonliving creatures. Power Attack can be used, it effectively lowers the save DC for more damage. Equivalent to a +1 bonus.
Strong evocation and transmutation, CL equal to wielder’s level or wielder’s level –4 (see above).[/sblock]
Replica Living Blade progression:
[sblock]••Level 1: Masterwork and Sizing (auto-sizes to match the wielder)
••Level 5: +1 enhancement
••Level 6: Warning property
••Level 10: +2 enhancement and Lesser Transmuting property
••Level 14: Living Blade Buster
••Level 15: +3 enhancement
••Level 18: Morphing property
••Level 20: +4 enhancement
Morphing: Standard to change into any other weapon of same type (2H, 1H, or light)
Transmuting: After hitting foe w/ DR, start of next turn weapon ignores that DR for 10 rounds or until you hit another type of DR.
Lesser Transmuting: Activates as Transmuting, but only lasts 1 round and then wielder must hit again on a round it is not active to re-activate (so, assuming at least one hit per round, the rounds it ignores the target's DR would alternate).
Warning: While held, you gain +5 insight to Initiative
Buster: Standard action; Expends highest level strike maneuver currently readied, can't be used if no strikes are readied. Once used, it cannot be used again for 5 rounds. The Living Blade surges with power and the blade briefly extends to 60 ft long in just enough time to make a single 90-degree swing with it. This counts as an area attack and the attack roll becomes a Reflex (half) save DC against the damage. Depending on how swung, it could be a 60 ft 2D conic fan shape when slashed horizontally, or be like a 60 ft line effect from Zayed that also hits directly above him and any in the arc on the way down, etc... Damage dealt is doubled against nonliving creatures. Power Attack can be used, it effectively lowers the save DC for more damage. Equivalent to a +1 bonus.
Strong evocation and transmutation, CL equal to wielder’s level or wielder’s level –4 (double weapons).
Overcharged Buster: Ability to “surge” for more power. Zayed may expend additional strike maneuvers (still going in order of highest maneuver level first) when activating Buster, though all of them must be of at least Master difficulty (7th-9th level). For each strike maneuver expended beyond the first, damage is increased by +50%, and the recharge time to use Buster again extends by 1 round. Example: Zayed expends a 9th level, 8th level, and two 7th level strikes. He deals +150% damage (2.5 times the normal amount) and can’t use Buster again for 8 rounds. Note for use on non-living foes, multiplier stacking rules apply. So the x2 would add +1x to the multiplier. In the example, damage would be 3.5x the normal amount.[/sblock]